Stuck Elevator Was Possibly Misused

July 25, 1986|The Morning Call

An elevator that trapped two visitors in Gross Towers East last Saturday had no history of repeated breakdowns, according to records at the Allentown Housing Authority, and may have become stuck when somebody tried to force its doors closed.

A supervisor with General Elevator Co., Allentown, said a repairman's inspection of the elevator showed that the door mechanism had been bent, an indication somebody tried to force the doors shut.

The two visitors to the elderly housing building on 13th and Allen streets became trapped in the elevator just above the third floor as a city ambulance crew was preparing to transport an elderly resident to the hospital.

The ambulance crew had put the elevator on hold while preparing the patient. But when the crew members returned, they found that somebody had begun using the elevator. The patient was taken out of the building by another elevator.

"I am not saying the people who were stuck in that elevator tried to jam the doors closed," said the elevator company supervisor. "It may have been somebody who tried to use it, couldn't get the doors closed because it had been locked by the ambulance crew, and then the person left. The other people then came along to use the elevator and got stuck," the supervisor said.

AHA Executive Director Paul Zimmerman said authority records show that the 14 elevators in the eight buildings operated by the AHA had a total of 30 problem calls since February. The elevator at Gross Towers East had less than five problem calls, none of which resulted in the elevator becoming stuck between floors.